Looking Ahead

Professor Heckman and the research team at the Center for the Economics of Human Development ask big questions that get to the heart of issues of disadvantage, and our work has advanced research on effective interventions to alleviate inequality. However, if we are to produce evidence that is needed for sound policies and investments which eliminate the inequality of opportunity and income that is prevalent in schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods, and embedded in current policies and practices, there is much more work ahead.
Looking forward, we will continue to deepen our understanding of inequality and evaluate interventions that give equal opportunity to individuals in the United States and around the world. We will develop new methods for measuring inequality and create accurate and empirically sound models through which we can examine inequality. We will evaluate the effects of early childhood interventions in order to maximize the impact of equitable and efficient public policies which improve child and social welfare. We will explore the role and influence of non-cognitive and socioemotional skills critical for achieving success in today’s economy.
The Center will continue to serve as a hub for its researchers and affiliates to achieve a better understanding on topics such as design methodologies, econometric models, the role of the family in generating inequality, cost-benefit analyses, and the scalability of early childhood programs.

Invest in Impact

The generosity of the Center’s donors is vital to our growth and continued success. Their support allows us to strengthen our investments in core research areas and seize new opportunities to expand our work on human development, inequality, and opportunity. Funding also enables the Center to disseminate its research findings broadly to policy makers and advocates, as well as to scholars and the public. The Center invites those who desire to make a difference in the growth and application of world-class research to contribute to the efforts of our researchers and staff to affect positive change in how society addresses inequality. Contributions advance the Center’s research on the economics of human flourishing and help us to better understand the ways in which effective public policies can address the roots of inequality and promote opportunity. Gifts can be directed to support student researchers, cutting-edge interdisciplinary conferences and workshops, international collaborations with top scholars in the fields of inequality research, or to bring distinguished scholars to the Center from around the world.

Targeting Your Gift

The mission of the Center for the Economics of Human Development is to advance knowledge that fosters human flourishing by identifying sources of disadvantage and promoting equality of opportunity. A gift of any amount will support empirical and theoretical research that integrates ideas and methods across the social and natural sciences to create rigorous evidence for public policy.
Your unrestricted gift is vital to sustaining the mission of the CEHD and supporting its core activities. However, you may choose to target your donation to the following areas crucial to the development of the Center:

Cutting-edge research, including supporting the research efforts of a new generation of scholars

Capital campaign to build our new research center at 5750 and 5740 S. Woodlawn Ave

Dissemination activities such as conferences and workshops

Visiting scholar program

Ways to Give

Give Online

Make a gift of any amount through our secure online form.
Please choose "Center for the Economics of Human Development" from the "Donor Designation" dropdown box. If you wish to target one of the CEHD's needs, please note that preference in the "Special Instructions" box.

Give By Phone

To pay by credit card, please call 1.888.UCHICAGO (1.888.824.4224) and tell the call center staff that your gift is for the Center for the Economics of Human Development.

Give By mail

Send your check* to:

The Center for the Economics of Human Development
University of Chicago
1126 E. 59th Street, Box 107
Chicago, IL 60637

*Checks should be made payable to "The University of Chicago." Please include "The Center for the Economics of Human Development" in the memo line.

Discuss Your Giving Interests

If you would like to further discuss your giving interests, please contact Center Executive Director Alison Baulos.